Musings of a Muse

Some of you may be sighing in relief and excitement over the brand new Tarte multiplEYE! I’ve been testing it out for a few days now and will be bringing you a full review in about a month’s time but for now I’ll give you a quickie sneak peek of what it’s all about!

Tarte multiplEYE is a natural lash enhancer (paraben free). This liquid formula is meant for application daily to lengthen, strengthen, and thicken lashes.

Tarte promises 152% change in the appearance of your lash length with multiplEYE. The product contains Hydroplant peptide which is clinically proven to give the appearance of longer, fuller lashes naturally using soy and amino acid proteins combine to form an essential super-protein base that fortifies and nourishes your lashes.

According to reports Tarte multiplEYE test 100% of subjects reported an increase of lash softness and appearance of lash length while 90% experience an increase in lash thickness.

Some of the benefits of Tarte multiplEYE is it’s easily obtained at your local Sephora, no need for a prescription. It does not contain parabens, prostaglandin, or any other harmful ingredients so you can feel comfortable and safe applying this to lashes that are so close to your eyes.

The product comes housed in a square tube similar to that of a mascara tube. It’s a clear formula and has a straight line lip style brush for application. The product is meant for once a day application on clean skin at the lash line as you would apply an eyeliner. However, for added results you’ll want to brush directly onto the lashes but do be careful not to get the product into your eyes. You’ll wait 60 seconds for the product to dry before applying makeup. I find it’s best to apply at night as it makes it another part of your night time regime and you aren’t worrying about dry down time during a busy morning makeup application rush.

I’ve been using it a week so far but won’t post results until at least a month’s time. If your lashes are stubby, weak, break off easily, or you just desire fuller, stronger lashes, Tarte multiplEYE may hold the key to bliss!

Check back soon for an update.

Anyone want to try?

Think it’ll work?

Share it!

Can’t wait for my update? Nab your own by visiting http://www.sephora.com

Share on Tumblr

4 Comments

Concealer. You want it to last. You want it to cover your flaws. You want it to wear in the rain, the snow, the humidity, and during that crazy underground rave you’re going to on Saturday night (wanna come with? What? I’ve haven’t realized I’m over 30 yet!).

You want your concealer to perform miracles all while smiling and telling you how pretty you look. It’s not too much to ask for a miracle is it?

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer does that. Well, maybe not the pretty part.

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer is one of those icky, yucky, sticky, difficult as a biatch to blend formulas that we all run across in a very rare blue moon and end up hating. But it’s this exact formula that gets you through the snow, the rain, the sleet, the heat, and the rave and maybe army training too!

Housed in a paint pot style jar this concealer falls into the industrial concealer range. It’s pigmented enough to cover up virtually all problems and has a formula that’s wears well in extreme conditions. The texture is a tad sticky and it’s difficult as all hell to blend but once it’s in place it pretty much lasts a good solid 10 hours without touch ups in between. I love it.

For the most part it doesn’t fade, it doesn’t crease, it doesn’t cake under older, drier eyes (like mine) and it pretty much stays exactly where you put it. I think part of it’s appeal is the strange formula. I do admit that it’s not as pigmented as some concealers I’ve tried but it’s pigmented enough to hide dark circles with a heavy layer, fine lines, and puffy eyes. It just works and I think that’s what makes it such a fond favorite. It also deserves to be mentioned it’s one of the few concealers I can pat and have it look natural. Most concealers I need to rub in but this pats into place very well and looks beautifully flawless.

I really like this concealer. Mind you it’s not my HG in any form but it’s greatness cannot be overlooked nor it’s wonderful price tag.

Loves it. Approves it for purchase. Try it, it could become your HG concealer of choice.

How about you?

Love MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer?

Not so much?

Tell it below!

Share on Tumblr

2 Comments

The Muse recalls dishing out $48 dollars and some change for her very first Fresh Scents fragrance.

But now you can get them for some silly price on Cherry Culture, lovesssss it!

Cherry Culture has two (the 3rd is sold out) of the Fresh Scents by Terri fragrances on sale for $12 bucks each! Omg! These normally retail for $48 so it’s a considerable savings to say the least.

Peachy Keen and Berry Cute are available but the third scent, Tangerine Kiss has already left the building. I really love these and think they are def worth trying out plus the price is ridiculously low.

Go haul peeps! Go haul!

Bless freaking be! The Etude House website has gotten a make over and I couldn’t be more relieved (although there be a steep learning curve for those of us who can’t read Korean).

I can’t begin to tell you how SLOW and tedious the old Etude House website was. It’s not bad enough struggling through the Korean lanuage but also having to face the horrible load time, the terrible pop up promos, and the amazing amount of ridiculous sections they had going on.

Yesterday Etude House was down all day and I thought maybe there might be some sort of new launch in the works but turned out it was EH getting ready to slip into some new clothes. The new site is a good deal faster loading, doesn’t load a pop up from the get go, and seems a tad easier to navigate.

I do have to reteach myself the lay out but I’m so happy it loads fast I may just wee myself in delight (but I won’t, promise!). It’s pretty much a one shot site and everything you may need or want is right there on the main page. I’m just delighted that FINALLY Etude House did a revamp because the site just really needed major work.

If you’re like a nosy visit http://www.etude.co.kr

Happy Drooling!

Share on Tumblr

1 Comment

The Muse has been a long time Lush fan but she can’t honestly say she ever ran into Lush Ice Blue Shampoo. It’s recently been “brought back” via the Lush Retro Collection but for the life of me I can’t recall this shampoo. Was it during the Cosmetic to Go era? Was it during The Body Shop run? The Muse is clueless for sure but she thanks the gods above that it’s been brought back as it’s something special!

If you’re familiar with Lush Washday Greens just think of Lush Ice as the same thing minus the greens. It’s minty and fresh and it makes your scalp tingle and sing in joy! The scent is more of a spearmint smell and quite true to a fresh sprig of mint unlike Lush’s popular Freeze Shower Gel this doesn’t have that herbal, ocean water scent, it’s a good deal more pleasant and sweet smelling. I like Lush Freeze but I don’t love it since the water they use to make it morphs the scent into a medicine, herbal scent that isn’t entirely pleasant. Taking this into consideration I was worried that Ice Blue Shampoo might lean towards the same type of scent but thankfully it’s a fresh mint that’s quite addicting.

The shampoo can be pretty much be used on all hair types but do be careful as it may strip anyone with dyed hair as it’s a hardcore, stimulating shampoo that gets hair squeaky clean and washes silicons and build up clear away. It’s considerably more gentle than many other Lush shampoos but none the less dye jobs beware.

I have many Lush favorites and I’m happily adding Lush Ice Blue Shampoo to my favorite list. It’s fabulous and I highly recommend grabbing one, bet you’ll love it!

Muse Approved, no doubt.

Well slap me happy the Boots Original Beauty Formula is at Target! Back to basics is where it’s at with Boots Original Beauty Formula. The Muse heard about Boots Original Beauty Formula about a month ago when she popped across it on the Boots UK site but little did she know she’d find it at her local Target so quickly.

Well, whoa. Awesome Target! Well done.

I honestly didn’t expect to see this arrive at Target so quickly and it was shocking to see the display sitting there all happy like and awaiting me to haul from it. The Muse hearts you Target.

Jump ahead for the raves.

Back to basics is where it’s at with the Boots Original Beauty Formula. Think your grandmother’s skincare regime and you’ll pretty much get the idea. Heavy glass jars, rose scented products, and just a very basic concept. Loves it. The Muse happens to love the C.O. Bigelow Rose line so she of course is totally digging all over everything in the Boots Original Beauty Formula as many of the skincare items are rose scented.

I only indulged in the facial line but there is an entire body line available as well. Sadly, my Target was sold out of alot of the items available but I still managed to haul three prime pieces.

It deserves to be mentioned that these items are no way going to take over my normal skincare regime but regardless they are decently priced and fun for those days I’m just hurrying to do a quick clean up at the end of the night.

I hauled the following items:

• Boots Original Beauty Formula Cold Cream ($9.99 USD)
• Boots Original Beauty Formula Overnight Skin Cream ($12.99 USD)
• Boots Original Beauty Formula Skin Tonic Damask Rose ($9.99 USD)

Before I get into my review I will mention that with the conversion rate as it is right now, the prices of the products are around the same as what you’d get in the UK minus $1-$4 at most. I picture little old English ladies running to their newest Boots to stock up on all these items.

As I mentioned this is very basic skincare, simplicity at it’s best in my humble opinion. The Boots Original Beauty Formula Cold Cream has a light rose scent that’s very pretty but could prove too much for those sensitive to smell. It comes housed in a heavy vintage glass style jar and is an extra thick, cold cream meant for removing makeup. Now it’s not going to get off waterproof mascara but it does a fine job of removing everything else and washing cleanly away while making your face feeling very moist and dewy. To use simply rub onto dry skin and remove with a wet wash cloth, rinse and done, simple!

Boots Original Formula Overnight Skin Cream is a bergamot scented night cream, sigh I sure did wish for rose but that’s ok it smells lovely none the less. It’s quick absorbing and leaves skin feeling very moisturized however it could possibly be a bit too much for oily or even normal skin types. It’s not thick mind you and has a gel-like feel but it’s just a tad heavy. almost but not quite greasy. I find it does an good job as an overnight cream and leaves my dry skin nice and moist but it does make my forehead a tiny shiny. Not bad though and I’m sure I’ll be thankful for it in the Winter. Again, it also comes housed in a heavy vintage style jar. I’m quite partial to the packaging of all of the line as it’s so retro and vanity worthy.

Lastly I hauled the Boots Original Beauty Formula Skin Tonic which is also rose scented. This contains a combination of rose oil and hydrating glycerin. I’m no stranger to these ingredients as I use them quite often in the Winter to get my face prepped and primed for moisturizer! I was in high debate with myself over the price however since it’s a 5oz size for $9.99 and I can get an 8oz of Burts Bees Rosewater & Glycerin Toner for $9-$12. I’ve since forgiven it for the price since it comes in such a cute glass bottle. It feels a tad more moisturizing compared to what I normally use and honestly rose oil and glycerin in any form is a gift from the gods the Muse thinks. It works amazing at removing flaky skin and prepping your skin so whether you try this one or just any glycerin toner, know that your skin will thank you every so kindly for the extra moisture.

I’m unsure whether I deem the items expensive. It seems like very large jars that will last a while so I lean towards saying they are quite nicely priced. I’m quite pleased that Target imported them so quickly as I really thought we’d possibly never see them or it would be months before they reached our shores. If you’re looking for a nice, simple skincare regime I recommend checking these out. I’m quite happy with all three and the entire line seems quite wonderful. Boots never really fails to make me smile. Well done Boots and Target the Muse Approves.

Welcome back dear Stila. We sure did miss you!

Today the Stila website came back full force atcha! It’s back up and running ladies and hopefully here to stay with us a very long, long time. And good news for anyone who shops it tomorrow!

Check out the deets below!

Use Coupon Code APPRECIATE tomorrow and get a free Stila 24k Luxe Lip Gloss with your purchase of $25 or more. It’s Stila’s kind way of saying thanks for the support. The new Stila 24k Luxe LipGloss is part of the Stila Summer 2009 Collection so the Muse is ever so hopeful this means the rest of the line with be coming at you soon.

Stila Family with Lynn Tilton would like to extend there thanks and appreciation for all the support during their transition.

Cheers Stila! To many fine years ahead!

Your fan,
the Muse

According to every single review I’ve read, I’m supposed to love MAC Fix+Rose…but I kinda don’t and I’m feeling all guilty and bad about it. I really wanted to love this….why can’t I?

Jump ahead for the whining!

Ok, so it deserves to be mentioned the Muse never tried MAC Fix+ prior to this however when she heard rose her ears perked up. She really loves anything rose in her skincare, how very Victorian! So she was all impressed that MAC Fix+ was adding a little rose into the mix of things to create their new limited edition Fix Spray.

As per the bottle’s instructions I should be using this in one of two ways. As a toner…spray a bit on my face, moisturize, and rumble down with my makeup application or as a spray fix to keep my makeup in place. The Muse isn’t a stranger to good toner and I actually probably couldn’t live without toner. My skin is dry so toner definitely aids my moisturizer to sink in and absorb fully. The idea of using this after my makeup did scare me. Imagine having a full face of makeup on, concealer, powder, the works and spraying yourself with a toner, does that sound scary or is it me? But I was determined to make this work because the idea of this “fixing” my makeup in place all day was too appealing to pass up and I was thinking hey if it doesn’t fix it at least I’ll have a killer toner.

Yea well not so much came out of it as a toner or as a fix.

First of all I don’t like it at all as a fixing agent. After applying a full on makeup and spraying my face down with this, I end up with a bit of a strange, washed out look. It’s as if I was caught in the rain and some of my makeup wore off. I’m just not feeling makeup perfect after use if that makes sense. In it’s defense I will say I’ve only used it once as a makeup fix (and a few times after as a toner). I plan on testing further but I’ve just been a tad bit wary to do it. I loved the smell, obviously roses however it caused a strange tightening on my face which I didn’t love. I assume the slight tightening was the effect of the “fix”. As an example it always feels like I’m wearing a very light peeling mask. You know that feeling of the mask being in place and it tightens a tad bit? That’s how this feels. There was also a slight tingle, sting, burning sensation but that seemed to have disappeared since using it my 3rd or so time as simply a toner. As far as keeping my makeup in place all day…nope. Def not. If anything it washed half my makeup away with the first spray!

As a toner again I didn’t like it but will say it did an interesting job of removing the flaky skin around my eye area and cheeks. My skin is going through that period where it gets used to the warm weather and is shaking off the cold Winter so I get a bit of flaking here and there which isn’t always cleared up with exfoliation. This seems to aid my moisturizer in keeping my skin flake-free I think. But again I don’t like the tight feeling it gives my skin. I also failed to mention that, oh my god, this burns terribly if you get it in your eye and come on obviously you will since you’re squirting it on your face, it’ll STING! OW!

So at the moment I’m somewhat in limbo if I like this stuff or if it’s just another useless item. I’m still testing happily away but from what I tried so far it fails to impress. Thankfully I didn’t buy a case of this as I was so enamored by the rose! I will say it’s unquestionably a good deal, as all MAC products are, since it’s such a large bottle with a tiny price tag. I just wish it would work now…..

What are your thoughts on MAC Fix+Rose?

Or just on MAC Fix+?

Do share it!

Loves it?

Same experience as the Muse with it?

The Muse has an obssession with anything that promises her fuller, larger, poutier lips. Is poutier even a word? Most of the time she feeds her addiction by purchasing plumping glosses of all kinds to see which will give her the fatter lip look. Granted she doesn’t want to look like she had scary lip injections ala Melanie Griffith (scary!) but she does desire a sexier, fuller pout.

Up until now it’s always been about the latest, greatest lip gloss but Avon took it to the next level with it’s brand new Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick.

Whoa a lipstick that plumps not a gloss? Cool beans!

Jump for it!

Avon Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick is available in 10 shades and is $5.99 a tube, likey cheap plumping agents! According to Avon you’ll have to see it to believe it yourself but no worries the Muse is here to explain it all so you don’t have to run around trying to locate a tube so you can start seeing and believing.

The lipstick is your standard pigmented, moisturizing lipstick from Avon, hey Avon does excel at making generally good lipsticks, the Muse Approves. The only difference is that the core of the lipstick is packed with a plumping agent that hydrates, moisturizes, and you guessed it, plumps. This pretty much mimics similar products you’ve seen which have a conditioning core (remember MAC Color Forums Lipstick?) but the core this time around has a minty plumping medium that supposedly plumps and fattens up lips.

Ok so it glides on wonderfully well and feels incredible on my lips and yes like any good plumping gloss it has a tiny bit of a stinging bite plus plenty of pigmented color to keep your pucker looking beautiful. But…not sure on the plumping part….it does make lips fuller but I didn’t really experience any amazing effects in regards to plumping. If I’m honest I get better results with my trusty tube of DuWop Lip Venom than I did with this lipstick.

Disappointed?

A little bit.

But if I take plumping out of the equation I can’t deny that Avon Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick is cheap, pigmented, moisturizing, and quite a nice lipstick for it’s price.

Doesn’t really plump but def serves it’s own in the realms of good lipsticks for a great price.

Likey!

Avon please work on the plumping agent and you’ll have yourself a champion although this one is still in the winning category for sure it just needs that little extra something to push it over the edge.

Sportin’ Avon Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump in Rosewood

Grab some now by visiting http://shop.avon.com

Isadora Ultra Cover Compact Powder was recently released along with the Isadora Summer Collection. Although the compact isn’t apart of the Summer Collection it manages to stand up by itself and offer very good coverage with an equally nice price tag.

With an SPF 20 and plenty of pigment to cover everything, the Isadora Ultra Cover Compact Powder could be a nice (and cheaper) dupe of the Muse’s very favorite powder of the moment, Benefit Hello Flawless. If you’re looking to cut corners this powder is half the cost ($16 USD) and has plenty of the pigment that wow’ed me over when I reviewed Hello Flawless for you!

The powder instantly covers problem areas with a pigmented, silky formula that blends easily and flawlessly into skin. The powder comes in one universal tone which I suppose Isadora thought was a good idea but it’s a bit too beige and orange for this Muse but she does so admit that it blends pretty well once applied however I do have my doubts for anyone with fairer skin than my own or even darker for that matter as the shade just seems a tad off for darker or lighter tones. I’d recommend it for medium, medium fair, and possibly caramel tones but nothing darker or lighter than those.

SPF 20 protects skin against the harsh Summer sun while the powder formula allows for breathable flawless coverage for oily to normal skin. At the moment my skin is suffering it’s normal stage of dryness after a harsh Winter and the powder applied perfectly well without flaking up or looking unnatural on.

Coverage is mostly definitely heavy but can be applied sheer with a brush instead of a sponge. I imagine you can get all three coverages from the one powder including light, medium, to heavy. The powder is supposed to be ideal for covering up ruddy cheeks or redness on the face however I suffer from neither so I can’t say if that works but I did take note that the finish is that of a mineral foundation and it evens out my skin nicely.

For the price I don’t think you can go wrong especially if you’ve been considering Hello Flawless but just weren’t willing to dish out the $34 for it. Isadora Ultra Compact Powder makes quite a nice dupe and is good wear for the humid days ahead when our skin will need a bit of powder to keep it mattified and fresh looking while battling a forehead that looks like a mirror as our skin becomes more oily due to the warmer weather. I’d have liked a bigger selection of colors but for what it’s worth the universal shade isn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be at first swatch, just remember to build up coverage slowly to avoid a case of a muddy or a mask-like look.

Sportin’ Isadora Ultra Cover Compact Powder with a spot of blush!

Visit http://www.isadora.com for more deets and purchase from Amazon or Cosmetic Mall if my review has fed your lemming!